MCV/DEVELOP News, events, research and jobs from the games industry
Tax breaks for UK games studios will be announced this week, says The Evening Standard. The newspaper’s report follows our own article last week, which revealed the tax breaks have been given the go-ahead despite not receiving an announcement at the Budget. The only news in the Budget about tax …
Read More »Call of Duty mobile studio The Blast Furnace will close this month
Activision’s Leeds-based mobile developer will close by the end of the month, the publisher has said. The Blast Furnace’s 47 staff face redundancy, although the company has told us that it is seeking new homes for some of the employees. Activision revealed in January it was ‘exploring options’ for the …
Read More »REVEALED: The biggest UK games websites
2013 was a bumper year for the UK games media, but who came out on top? MCV has obtained the latest ComScore stats for the last 12 months, which shows that – perhaps unsurprisingly – IGN was the top UK video games website by a huge margin. It’s also a …
Read More »Xbox One UK sales spike but PS4 still in control
Microsoft’s Xbox One has been the best-selling games console for four weeks in a row, MCV understands. The machine has benefited from a 30 price cut, while the launch of Titanfall last week caused a surge in console sales of 96 per cent. But retailers have told MCV that PS4 …
Read More »Tax breaks for UK games devs will happen despite Budget no show
It may have missed The Budget, but tax breaks for UK games developers will go ahead, MCV can reveal. High-level industry sources have told MCV that the European Commission has told UK Government officials that subsidies for production are approved, after a long-running investigation into whether they were really needed. …
Read More »Exertis Gem scores Turtle Beach distribution deal
Hit headset gaming brand Turtle Beach has signed a fresh distribution deal with Exertis Gem. The distributor, which also handles Take-Two, Xbox and Ubisoft, says it is the only company where indie stores can purchase Turtle Beach stock. The latest products in the Turtle Range included official Xbox One controllers …
Read More »Asphalt 8 is first mobile game to allow fans to livestream
Another week, another story of Twitch doing something pretty cool. The video streaming giant has teamed up with mobile developer Gameloft to allow gamers to livestream footage from new iOS game Asphalt 8: Airborne. Twitch says it is the first time this has happened and is being promoted via a …
Read More »UK games tax breaks could be confirmed this week
Tax relief for UK games developers have been ‘all but confirmed’, and could even be announced during Wedenesday’s Budget speech. That’s according to an MCV source close to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, who said that preliminary meetings have already been held with senior games industry executives. If …
Read More »Xbox One hardware jumps 96% on Titanfall launch
Titanfall is comfortably this week’s UK No.1, and boost Xbox One hardware sales by almost 100 per cent. 70 per cent of all Xbox One consoles sold last week came bundled with Titanfall, Chart-Track says. Titanfall is EA’s first No.1 that isn’t a FIFA game for over a year. The …
Read More »Xbox’s big hope: Can Titanfall turn the tide on PlayStation?
Mathew Horne and Jonathan Ross have just turned up to the Titanfall launch event in London. They’re here along with a number of minor and not-so-minor TV celebrities: Reece Shearsmith, some boyband (Lawson – ed), Ralf Little, that girl from The Inbetweeners. It’s a who’s-who of: Oh! That’s what’s-his-face.” And …
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